Orange is the Color of Home

This week at the Debutante Ball, we decided to do a good old writing prompt. The promt chosen was the word “orange.”

For me, orange is the color of home. We recently completed a renovation of a 1929 bungalow. And by “we” I mean we hired a general contractor to do the work. But still, there were many decisions to make over the course of the year-long project, from when we closed to when we moved in just a couple of weeks ago. One of the last decisions to make was what color to paint the front door. Bright marigold seemed the perfect shade–a cheery hue, esepcially in the brutal Midwestern winter we’re having.

Can you tell I like orange?

It’s the smell of clementines as my young son smacks on a segment, the juice dripping off his chin. Orange is Dreamsicles, sherbet, sunflowers. Cheese. Glorious cheese.

Susan Gloss is the author of the novel VINTAGE (William Morrow/HarperCollins, March 2014). When she's not writing, toddler wrangling, or working as an attorney, she blogs at
Glossing Over It and curates an online vintage store, Cleverly Curated.